Marathon Fans and haters alike have seen its Steam players counted like hawks, as it has been the most searched game on SteamDB ever since its release. While they are bashing Marathon hoping the number of players drops even more, as they are strangely hopeful that the game will fail, those stuck fighting UESC and other players for loot are hoping for a big turnaround. While Bungie and Sony have taken a first chance to get one Marathon renaissance via a sale on all platforms, as season 2 is a hit would go a long way to increase player numbers.
While a lot of content is already confirmed for Marathon Season 2 – a new runner called Sentinel, a night version of Dire Marsh and Cradle, which will allow deeper tweaks to Shell stats – there's room for some big quality of life changes and test results to come into play. If Bungie is smart about how it handles Season 2's content reduction, then MarathonThe number of players can begin to climb, allowing the game to recover before trying more drastic moves like a release. With the core of the game and lore of Marathon As great as it is, Season 2 will hopefully solve its only real problem: maintaining a large player base.
Just like other extraction shooters, Marathon will have seasonal resets, with upgrades removed and vaults emptied to put everyone on a level playing field.
Marathon releases Patch Notes for the April 21st update
Bungie releases Update 1.0.6.1 for Marathon, which makes a number of tweaks to the game in addition to major nerfs to the popular WSTR shotgun.
Make Marathon's experimental playlists permanent
Since its release, Marathon has tested the community's most requested gaming methods through some temporary playlists that rotate in and out. Duo queue on different maps and kit-only sponsored queues on Dire Marsh have both been big hits, with the former favoring players who only have one friend to play with and the latter creating a more fair battle royale-like game loop. Hopefully Season 2 will ensure that duos always have a way to play together. And in the case of sponsored kits, it can work as a great free-to-play experience instead of making the entire game free. This way, players on the fence about Marathon could try it out with their friends and experience the game in the most fair and accessible way possible. They could only be allowed to play any map that is in the sponsored kit rotation for the week, and their vault could be unavailable until they buy the full game, allowing them to set themselves up for success when they want to buy in.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Start
Guess the games from the emojis.
Light (120s) Medium (90s) Hard (60s)
Improvements to Marathon's ranked mode
While Bungie tries to crack down on the cheaters who have attacked Marathons ranked game, there are some issues that still need to be addressed. First, some new barriers must be put in place to prevent players from entering Pinnacle. Second, and more importantly, ranked matchmaking needs to be overhauled. While it may be due to population issues, it's not uncommon for players to run into gold while in bronze 3, fights that are unsurprisingly one-sided due to differences in gear and skill. Even if the match search time is longer, keep Marathon Ranked matches limited to the same level would be a welcome adjustment. In addition to equipment requirements, gear hats can prevent players from getting too kitted up, keeping the playing field level.
A clan system with a shared vault
Given the presence of Destiny 2s Clan system, which provides upgrades to grind for and some bonus rewards to collect each week, it's surprising there isn't one for Marathon yet. It can suit an extraction shooter especially well, as players can get a large, split vault to donate items to. Anything players extract (or perhaps put into DCON, to give the unit a purpose outside of contract) can appear in the clan's vault, which any player in the clan can draw from at will. This way, players who have received their upgrades can donate materials like Biolens Seeds to their friends who are either unlucky or have less time to play, ensuring that they can be properly equipped when they need to. Weapons, shields and so on can also be donated, essentially letting players trade with those they trust. Maybe there could be a daily item value limit so players don't take too much, or maybe they have to donate a fixed value before withdrawing from the clan vault. Regardless, this would be an incredible addition.
Delivering an update on Marathon Season 3
Finally, and perhaps more importantly than any addition to the game itself that might be made in Season 2, Bungie needs to prove that Marathon fans that they really plan to stick with the game for “years.” Or, more precisely, that Sony will allow it to maintain support for a long time. Removing the edit label from Season 3 and specifying whatever the new content will be – a brand new full-sized map like Cryo, weather variants for existing maps, more Shell types or crossover Runner skins – would go a long way to reassuring fans that there's a lot to look forward to. The fastest way to ease fan anxiety and silence Marathons doubters would be to show that season 3 (and maybe even a few seasons after that) is actively being worked on and will still be released. While those hoping for a brand new map in Season 2 are out of luck, that doesn't mean the season can't do a world of good for the game.
- Released
-
March 5, 2026
- ESRB
-
Teens/animated blood, language, violence, in-game purchases, user interaction
- Multiplayer
-
Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
